


Coffee Shop Meet Cutes

by ericsonclan



Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Awkward Flirting, Coffee, F/F, F/M, First Meetings, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Meet-Cute, Memes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:54:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23438041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ericsonclan/pseuds/ericsonclan
Summary: The smell of coffee and love is in the air as fate draws different pairs together for memorable first meetings.
Relationships: Allison/Willy (Walking Dead: Done Running), Clementine/Louis (Walking Dead: Done Running), Jesse/James (Walking Dead: Suffer The Children), Marlon/Sophie (Walking Dead: Done Running), Prisha/Violet (Walking Dead: Done Running)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	1. Sending the Right Message

**Author's Note:**

> (by Linnea)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Violet sees a cute girl at a coffee shop (cough cough Prisha) and tries to flirt with her. It goes about as well as expected XD

Louis stifled back a yawn as Violet opened the door to the coffee shop. She knew that he wasn’t a morning person, but they really needed to get the project done. It was due next Tuesday. Besides, the coffee shop was never busy in the early morning which meant they could focus on their assignment. As they entered the coffee shop, Violet’s point held true. There were only three other people besides them and the baristas on duty. An old man sipping his drink in the far corner, a college student passed out on top of their notes and an Indian girl with a long black braid. She seemed really focused on whatever was on her laptop.

“I’ll order the drinks. You-” Louis was cut off by his own yawn. “Get us some seats.”

“Got it.” Violet replied, turning to walk away before pausing. “Wait, Louis...”

Louis held up a hand.“I know, I know. Chamomile tea.”

“Thanks.” Violet quickly found a table, pulling out her laptop and powering it up. By the time she had set up the table, Louis had arrived carrying a tray full of drinks.

“So.” Louis sat down and passed her the tea. “What are we working on today?” He took a long swig from his drink.

“If we finish up the PowerPoint and look over our notes, we should be able to finish it on time.” Violet responded, opening up the application on her computer.

“Alright then. Let’s get started.” Louis stretched out his hands before proceeding to type rapidly on his laptop.

Fifteen minutes had passed and Violet had worked on nothing. She couldn’t seem to concentrate. She kept staring at the girl across the room.

_Shit. I have to stop. Just focus on the assignment._

She looked down at her laptop, staring at her fingers, willing them to move, but they wouldn’t.

“So, how’s it going?” Louis’ voice drew her attention away. He leaned over and saw the blank slide.

“You haven’t started yet?”

“I’m starting now.” Violet replied, annoyed with herself.

Ten more minutes passed and the same problem seemed to consume Violet. She couldn’t stop staring at that girl.

“Oh?” Louis exclaimed with a playful smile. “I see what’s happening here.”

“You don’t know shit.” Violet grumbled, trying to focus on the project again, hoping that she wouldn’t look up and have her gaze betray her.

“I know what I know.” He said confidently. “You should go talk to her.”

“Are you insane?!?” Violet snapped. “There’s no way I’m doing that.”

“You should go for it. My advice is good. After all, which one of us has a girlfriend?” Louis stated with a smile.

“Clem asked you out; it wasn’t due to your moves.”

“Ignoring your sassy comments, I will still help.” Louis replied before sighing. “Oh. Why don’t you airdrop her something? I noticed the option pop up when I opened my computer and since she’s the only other one on a laptop it has to be hers!”

“That’s-“ Violet paused. “What would I even send her?”

“I don’t know, maybe a cute picture or something.” Louis suggested with a shrug. Violet paused, staring at him before proceeding to find a picture. What she ended up finding was a picture of a hamster that looked pretty cute. She quickly edited the word “coffee” with a question mark on it.

Louis gasped. “Wow. That’s amazing!”

“Shut up.” Violet mumbled. Her heart felt like it was going to burst, she was so nervous. She could still back out of it. No, fuck that. She should just go for it. With a quick flick of her wrist, she threw the picture into an airdrop. She let out a sigh of relief at the sound of it being sent. Then her eyes widened in horror.

“Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.”

“What? What’s wrong, Vi?” Louis asked with concern.

“I sent her the wrong thing. I accidentally sent her that stupid meme you made me. How do I take it back?” She asked in a panic.

“You can’t.”

“But-“ Violet paused as the girl’s laptop dinged. The airdrop was successful. The girl looked confused as she opened the message before looking around the room. Violet and Louis quickly ducked, hiding under the table. Violet felt her stomach twist. This was so embarrassing.

_I have to get out of here!_

She moved down, lying on her stomach as she crawled toward the back door.

_If I get out of here now, maybe she won’t know it’s me._

Louis stared in disbelief at Violet inching her way to escape from the awkward encounter. Suddenly, her computer dinged. Glancing up, he noticed that the girl had sent a message.

_Tell your friend that I appreciate the meme and that I’d love to meet up here tomorrow._

Louis looked up at the girl who was smiling as she watched Violet desperately trying to reach the exit.

He couldn’t believe it. Somehow that disaster of a plan actually worked.


	2. An Overwhelming Pink

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis sees a cute girl at a coffee shop and tries to hide that his dreadlocks are turning pink at the sight of her.

Louis felt himself holding back a yawn as he opened the door to the coffee shop. He knew he shouldn’t have stayed up late last night practicing his new song, but whenever inspiration struck he always wanted to take it wherever it may go. Slowly shuffling his way towards the front, he looked up at the menu. _Definitely a coffee kind of morning._ His eyes scanned the menu before landing on the drink he wanted.

“Hello, what can I get for you today?” the barista asked with a smile.

“Umm… Can I get a caramel frappuccino, extra whipped cream.” 

“Sure. I’ll get started on that right away. Anything else?”

“Nope. That’s it. Thanks.” Louis gave a small smile, passing forward his credit card after the barista told him the total. He waited near the counter for his drink, his eyes looking around the shop. It wasn’t that busy yet which was nice. It meant he should be able to find a seat pretty easily. He paused when he saw a girl sitting near one of the windows. Her attention was on her book. It must've been a good read. Her golden brown eyes and brown, curly hair shone beautifully in the morning sun. Louis felt his heart race. _Holy shit! How much caffeine is in this drink?_ His train of thought halted when he realized he didn’t even have his drink yet. The truth hit him: it was the girl that was making his heart beat skyrocket. 

Suddenly out of the corner of his eye he saw his dreadlocks slowly changing into a shade of bright pink. He desperately grabbed at them, hoping to hide the change. It would become obvious soon what his overwhelming emotion was. It would be way too embarrassing if the girl saw that. He looked around the counter, praying for something to cover his hair. His gaze fell upon a napkin holder. _Napkins! That has to work!_ He quickly grabbed as many as his hands could carry before throwing them on top of his now bright pink dreadlocks. The napkins failed spectacularly at their job. _There has to be somewhere to hide till I calm down… the bathroom!_ He ran over to it, his hand twisting the doorknob, praying the door would open. But it wouldn’t budge. He needed the code.

“Excuse me!” Louis ran over to the barista. “I need the code for the bathroom!”

The barista was a different one than the one who had served him. They looked suspiciously at him. He couldn’t blame them. Napkins were tossed haphazardly over his head and he was acting strange. He looked like some hobo. 

“Do you have a receipt to prove you made a purchase?”

Louis reached into his coat but remembered that he had tossed out the receipt. “I don’t, but if you ask the other barista they know that I bought a drink. I should be getting it really soon!” His voice sounded panicked. 

“Caramel frappuccino for Louis!” The other barista called out.

“Oh, that’s me!” Lois exclaimed, running over to grab his drink.

That was enough to convince the skeptical barista. “Sir, the code for the bathroom is 4923.”

“Thank you!” Louis turned to make sure the coast was clear when he noticed the girl again. 

She was trying to cover her face with her book and hat as it grew brighter from blushing. Her side bun was still visible, displaying bright pink hair. 

Louis was ecstatic at the sight. She liked him too.


	3. A Splash of Luck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marlon goes on a coffee run only to bump into someone and lose half the order.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (by Linnea)

Marlon rehearsed the coffee order again and again as he made his way towards the local coffee shop. As he opened the front door a blast of air conditioning hit him, refreshing him from the hot weather outside. 

“Welcome!” the barista called out to him with a friendly smile.

“Oh, uh, thanks.” Marlon responded, his mind still trying to retain the whole order. His feet walked towards the barista, his eyes focused on the neverending list of drinks.

“What can I get started for you today?” The barista stood in front of the register ready to input the order.

“Yeah, can I get one caramel macchiato, two chai tea, a decaf flat white, and a house special.” His mind mentally checked off each item on his list. A proud smile played on his face when he had successfully ordered everything. Paying the barista for the drinks, he made his way over towards the pickup counter. He never minded doing a coffee run for the group. It gave him a chance to stretch his legs and get a change of scenery. His fingers reached up to his hair, playing with one of the strands. He still wasn’t sure if he liked this new haircut. Louis had somehow convinced him to let go of his mullet even though he and his hair had been inseparable for many years now. His hair was much shorter now. Luckily the sides of his head were still shaven so it felt like a part of his old haircut remained with him. He was so caught up in his thoughts it took him a minute to even realize that his order had been called. 

“Oh, thanks,” he reached to grab a straw. “Can I get a tray?”

The barista gave a simple nod, disappearing below the counter and retrieving the drink tray.

“Thanks,” Marlon awkwardly organized the drinks in his hands. Sure, it was a challenge to carry five drinks, but he should be fine as long as he made it back to his car. Turning around he took his first few steps towards the exit when all of the sudden he bumped into someone. A surprised exclamation came from them as a splash of different coffees spilled on them. 

“I’m so sorry.” Marlon placed aside the coffee tray immediately to help the stranger. His eyes widened when he saw who he had collided with. It was a redhead girl around his age. A baseball cap placed backwards on her head covered the top of her long red hair. She was gorgeous. Marlon snapped his attention back to what mattered. Her white shirt had been ruined by his mistake. It was now covered in splotches of different shades of brown. The girl seemed distracted by the weird mixture of hot and cold that she felt thanks to the coffee spill. 

“It’s okay,” Her eyes looked up at him, making her pause for a moment before continuing. “It was my fault too. Should’ve paid attention to where I was going.”

“Well, let me make it up to you,” Marlon’s mind spun while he tried to come up with a fair solution. “I could pay for your shirt.” he gestured towards her ruined shirt. The girl looked down at the   
shirt before waving a dismissive hand. 

“Don’t worry about it. I think it looks cooler now,” She gave a warm smile that made Marlon’s heartbeat quicken. 

“Here, let’s sit down for a minute,” She motioned towards the empty table by them. Marlon followed suit, sitting across from her. “Oh, I should get some napkins to clean off.” The girl stood up but Marlon jumped up to his feet. 

“Let me, it’s the least I can do,” He had an apologetic look on his face.

“Okay, thanks.” She sat back down and watched as he made his way over to get some napkins and the drinks he had left behind. Placing down the drinks, he handed her the huge pile of napkins. 

She accepted them and proceeded to clean off her shirt. After a few minutes it was clear that it wasn’t really making much of a difference. 

“I’m really sorry,” Marlon mumbled, his face downcast from the guilt he felt.

“It’s fine, really. I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Sophie,” She extended her hand that still had the napkins. Her eyes widened in realization before she tossed aside the napkins.

“Marlon,” He shook her hand.

“Marlon, huh?,” A small smile formed across her lips. “That’s a cool name.”

“Thanks, your name’s pretty cool too,” His response made her pause for a moment, her face covered with a stunned expression. 

“Thanks,” She nervously played with the back of her cap. The two continued to talk for a while, learning different things about each other. He had learned that she was an artist which seemed fitting for her based on the short interaction that he had so far. He told her about his dog Rosie and got caught up in showing her pictures when he realized the time.

“Shit, I’m so late.” He stood up to his feet; he still needed to reorder the drinks. Most of the contents were now on Sophie’s shirt and by now the drinks were all cold. 

“Wait,” Sophie’s voice stopped him as she grabbed a pen and jotted something down on one of the napkins. Sliding it over, she knocked over her own drink, its icy liquid spilling over the napkin and ruining whatever she’d written 

“Dammit,” Her face fell when she looked at the napkin, now waterlogged and useless. 

“What’s wrong? What was on the napkin?” Marlon sat down, looking over with concern. Sophie looked embarrassed for a minute, a strand of her hair falling in front of her face. “It was… my phone number.”

Marlon felt his face grow hotter. He couldn’t have heard that right, could he? But based on Sophie's face it seemed like he was. Digging his hand into his pocket, he pulled out his phone. “You could still give me your phone number,” He shot out his hand excitedly. He hoped that his sweat didn’t get on it. Sophie looked surprised for a moment before a smile lit up her face. Pulling out her own phone, she offered it to Marlon. The two quickly inputted their numbers, passing back the phones when they were done. Sophie smiled at her phone. Standing up, she looked back at Marlon. “It was nice meeting you, Marlon. I’ll be sure to text you.” 

Marlon felt his heartbeat quicken as an excited smile overtook his face. “I can’t wait.” 

With that Sophie exited the coffee shop, leaving Marlon feeling a nervous excitement that he hadn’t felt before.


	4. Cube Butt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jesse thinks it will be another boring day at the coffee shop when he meets a special customer.

Jesse let out a tired groan as he got up from the chair in the break room and cracked his neck. There was no way that was a fifteen minute break. It felt like it had only been two. Regardless he readjusted his apron and walked out to continue his work as a barista. His eyes wandered up from the counter as he stood in front of the cashier register. “Welcome, what can I get started for you?”

He almost didn’t finish that sentence when his eyes caught sight of the cute customer in front of him.There standing before him was a man with dark hair and soft brown eyes. He had a rather contemplative look on his face as he studied the drink list on the wall behind Jesse. His finger tapped against the side of his leg before he blinked and realized that Jesse had spoken to him.

“Hmm? Oh, sorry. Just finished a complicated paper. Ummm, I’ll take an earl grey tea latte.”

Jesse nodded, inputting the order before reaching for a cup for the drink. “Your name?”

“James,” 

The barista smiled softly at the customer’s response. It was a nice name.

“Okay, James, I’ll have that ready for you in a few minutes.” Jesse placed the cup to the side for when he began to make it.

“Okay, thank you,” James gave such a soft smile that it made Jesse’s heart flutter uncontrollably. He nearly forgot to tell James the total for his drink but luckily James was kind enough to remind him. Jesse watched James for a few seconds as he took a seat by the window and started to watch the pigeons who were fighting over an ice cream cone. 

Jesse returned his attention to the task at hand and started the process of making an earl grey tea latte. It wasn’t a hard drink to make; it was one that had been ordered many times before. But for some reason Jesse kept getting distracted by his latest customer. He was charmed by the way he smiled softly and his warm laugh when he watched as a pigeon accidentally ended up with part of the ice cream cone on top of its head. 

Jesse had become so distracted by James, however, that he accidentally burned the side of one of his fingers and nearly dropped the drink. He quietly hissed and shook his hand before pouring the drink. “James!” he called out, sliding the drink to the pick up window.

The young man looked up and made his way over at the sound of his name. “Thank you,” 

“Sure, have a nice day,” Jesse gave a small smile and felt his heart beat faster when James returned it. He turned away quickly and began to focus on other things. 

James watched him for a second. His heart hadn’t really calmed down since he saw the hot barista with the man bun. James was so entranced that he forgot just how hot the drink was and when he took a sip he nearly burnt his tongue. He shook his head and began to make his way outside to get ready for his next class. 

He glanced back, His eyes travelling over to the barista’s apron that had his name on it: Jesse. James smiled and pushed open the door; he was definitely going to return to this coffee shop. 

Two weeks had passed and James had dropped by the coffee shop nearly every other day. Whenever he showed up he could swear that Jesse’s face brightened but James quickly brushed that off as him reading too much into it. He had never been the most well-versed in picking up romantic cues. As he ordered his usual earl grey tea latte he wondered whether he could ever get up the nerve to ask this hot guy out. He quickly squashed that though and paid for the drink before he stepped aside to wait. After a few minutes the drink was prepared and James thanked Jesse before picking up the drink only for his brows to furrow in confusion when he noticed some writing on it. 

“Does this say ‘you have a cube butt’?” James’ question made the barista look up from his work on another drink.

“What? No. It says ‘you have a cute butt’,” Jesse stated simply. His outer demeanor was calm but inside he felt like screaming at himself for writing something like that. His heart was tight with fear of some sort of rejection. 

“Why would you write that?” James was too overwhelmed by the idea of what the message could mean; his brain was slowly but surely short circuiting.

“Because I was trying to flirt with you and writing it on your coffee cup was the easiest way.”

“But this is tea,” James wanted to stop himself from pointing out pointless details but he couldn’t stop himself.

“Well, I...” Jesse could feel his face growing hot. “I just wanted to show you I was interested in you!” 

That sentence made James truly blank out. He felt like he could spill his drink at any moment. “In me? Really?” James blinked in confusion, his mind struggling to keep up.

“That’s right.” Jesse felt his heart twist; it was coming. The rejection. 

James silently moved forward and placed down the cup. “Could I have your number?” he asked shyly. 

Jesse’s eyes widened in disbelief before a smile appeared on his lips and he jotted down his number beside the message on the coffee cup. 

“Thanks,” James looked up at Jesse then glanced away as he felt himself blushing. “I should get going.” He gave a final wave then held up the coffee cup as if showing that he would be calling Jesse later. 

Jesse smiled and returned the wave, watching him for a minute before he realized he still had drinks to work on. “Shit,” The barista jogged over to start his work again. A smile slowly appeared on his face at the thought of getting a text from James. It was one Jesse doubted would disappear anytime soon.


	5. Simply Badass

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Willy is working on his homework when he notices a certain girl.

Willy tapped the pencil against his forehead as he stared down at his English homework assignment; it made no sense to him. With an annoyed groan he let his head lean back and looked up blankly at the coffee shop ceiling. He didn’t know how he would get through another year of highschool when he couldn’t even figure out how to answer these easy questions to the book he had just finished reading. 

Willy stared at the ceiling for a second before his eyes lazily wandered around the coffee shop. Nothing super interesting was happening. A couple was talking about plans for the weekend over to the right of him while the dude to the left of him was busy typing away on his laptop, his eyes laser focused on whatever he was working on while he bopped his head to the beat of the music. Willy gave a sigh and was about to continue work when a barista’s voice drew his attention.

“Allison,” The name the barista called made a girl with dark hair pulled back into a ponytail walk forward. “Here’s your black coffee with three extra shots of espresso.”

“Thanks,” Allison muttered. She picked up the coffee and walked towards the trash can. Willy’s eyes followed her - he watched in awe at what happened next. Without waiting a second for the coffee to cool the girl tilted the cup back and began to chug the hot liquid. In seconds the coffee was gone and Allison simply tossed away the cup before taking out a bag of Flaming Hot Cheetos from her mauve hoodie. Tearing open the plastic bag she scarfed down the spicy snack and tossed away the bag. Willy’s eyes were practically sparkling at how cool that was. This girl really was something else. There was no other way to describe her; she was simply badass.

“So cool,” Willy whispered to himself as his heartbeat raced at the sight of the pretty, kickass girl in front of him. The girl let out a burp then strolled over towards the bathrooms without a single word. Willy sat there, still in awe over what happened. This girl had to be the coolest person he had ever seen. Jumping up from his chair and knocking it over, he ran to the stand where sugar, creamer and other items to help with a customer’s coffee experience stood. 

Willy snatched up a napkin and began to fold it. His tongue stuck out slightly as he worked to shape a paper airplane out of it. After a minute his creation was made and he ran over to grab his pen. With a few quick scribbles he put down his number. It was just in time too for as soon as he had penned the last number the girl walked around the corner. Willy smiled and with all his might he threw the paper airplane in her direction. 

It became clear in a moment, however, that the napkin was too dense for a paper airplane. It lifelessly struggled to get through the air then whacked against the girl’s chest. The girl stared blankly at the napkin at her feet before her eyes shot up and looked towards Willy. He felt his embarrassment rise. Giving a shy laugh, he scampered off to hide away. Hiding underneath one of the coffee shop’s tables, Willy hoped that he had been fast enough and that the girl wouldn’t find him and make him face her wrath. That hope was soon crushed though when a voice appeared above him.

“You,” The girl’s dark eyes looked at his lanky form squashed awkwardly under the table. “Is this yours?” She held out the paper airplane napkin.

“Yeah, it is,” Willy gave a nervous smile and extended his hand. She was upset with him, that's why she came over to return it. He wasn’t foreign to the idea of being the weird kid. Still he had hoped that maybe this time it would be different.

As he took the napkin, he felt glum until he noticed handwriting on it that wasn’t his. There on the other wing was the girl’s name and phone number. His eyes shot up and he saw a faint smile on Allison’s face before she turned and left. 

Willy giggled and clutched the napkin close to his chest. He couldn't wait to get home. His eyes grew large again. He still had homework to do! He squirmed out from his hiding spot with a small grunt, bumping his head along the way but none of that seemed to matter. She had given him her number and his heart felt all warm and fuzzy because of it.


End file.
